Soundtrack to my life
A selection of YouTube videos that represent my rather eclectic taste!
It’s not exhaustive and and I have probably missed a bunch of important things but I will try to embellish as time goes on.
A selection of YouTube videos that represent my rather eclectic taste!
It’s not exhaustive and and I have probably missed a bunch of important things but I will try to embellish as time goes on.
Sort of a theme for this music collection, which is why I placed it first in this list. Watch the 1980 film too with Denis Hopper, although it’s quite disturbing
Love the grungy sound of this track. Check out my Podcast recommendation
Find a relaxed place to listen to this in the dark with a good immersive sound system, or your best headphones. Let the album take you wherever your imagination will take you. Get lost in its space and come out the other side somewhere new!
![Hania Rani - Eden (Official Video) [Gondwana Records]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9R1vOdO0Gwk/hqdefault.jpg)
This is beautiful mediation music. I can’t remember how I came across it but I am so glad I did! Often played in the morning at home
This is current day Eno, back to using his voice, along with his daughter. Wonderful
Hugely influential Scottish indie band, famous for unfathomable lyrics ! This is an ealy track
John Martyn’s version that I mentioned in the Portishead blurb. The album cover represents the church that he turned into a recording studio
For now, I am including three trip hop classics from Massive attack to start with. Will be adding more!
First up Angel
Nexcyia playing in the Hammersborg church during the by:Larm festival in Oslo in September 2022.
Nexcyia playing in the Hammersborg church during the by:Larm festival in Oslo in September 2022.
I saw Loraine James perform at the Semibreve Electronic music and digital art festival in Braga Portugal. Nexcyia had returned to London by tis points so I was hanging with the young ones on my own. To be honest I didn’t get it live but after listening to the album on my own a few times it finally clicked
The first album I ever bought at age 13 or 14 was Pink Floyd’s Relics. But this is from the Meddle album. It takes up the whole of the B side
The scream in this song is scary as hell. Along with Proidgy’s Firestarter, it’s another one I used to chase the kids around the house too for amusement!
Very much my student years
I well remember going to see her at the Marquee club with Lisa, Nick and gang
I bought the album when it first came out but this track came roaring back in 2022/2023
From an earlier album I like. Will no doubt be adding more of Tom waits to this archive !
Hard to choose from the huge catalogue of Tom Waits but starting with this one
Hard to describe these guys, pretty much led by the dictatorial painter Don Van Vliet. This and other selections are from his latter musical outputs before he retied to painting only.
From Doc at the Radar Station, my favourite Captain Beefheart album. Sung with an ashtray voice!
Also from the Doc at the Radar Station album. A surreal track with “Bad voogum”
I have a few Iggy stories, like nearly being crushed to death on the floor of the mosh pit at the Shepherds Bush Empire
One of Iggy’s best known songs. Recorded at Hansa studios in Berlin with Bowie on piano and backing vocal. Crazy stage invasion towards the end, encouraged by Iggy. The video of the whole concert in Belgium is well worth a watch
One of my favourite Nick Cave songs. Not sure how this made it past the TV censors! Just amazing seeing him do it live, which is getting rarer these days. And these clips with his girlfriend at the time PJ Harvey!
What a great video with a bunch of other musicians, like Jarvis Cocker, in the dance scenes
Not creating a separate grunge category as they own it. Check out the Reading Festival video as well with the stage dancer - wonderful stuff
Another introduction by the children - they love their Jazz!
Alexa took me to see these guys at Somerset House and I saw them again at the Newport jazz festival with Pam in 2019. Will be seeing them again in Paris in 2024
Pam and I were side stage for this show at the Newport Jazz festival, so we might be in the video! Patrice Quinn really fits the part. The revolution is coming - “We will no longer ask for justice, instead we will take our retribution”
Another classic from the great Kamasi Washington - in his native LA by the looks of it
![Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises [Full Album]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Mn8x0QbN4f8/hqdefault.jpg)
Probably the only full album I will post as its sort of a concept jazz album
Another one of those great artists that is not widely known and never quite made it
Yey. My song :) Miles is a family friend of ours from LA too
A massive hit across several generations
Amazing video of them at the top of their game. The full concert is available on You Tube. Blistering!
This is Jazz rock/fusion at its best. See my other video of the Mahavishnu Orchestra live at Syracuse with Billy on drums
I am such a big fan of Connie Constance. This is from her first album which is outstanding. She can do punky material too but this is a jazzier interpretation of her song Yesterday
Amazing album with Jaco Pastorius. The album that got me into Joni and glad to see that she is back in 2024!
A resurgent Bob Dylan released a trilogy of amazing albums starting with Time Out of Mind in 1997, Love & Theft in 2001 and Modern Times in 2006. They had tendencies toward blues and rockabilly which I loved and this is one of my favourites with a driving beat.
We were there in St. Sebastien for my wife’s birthday to see the emerging Gregory Porter . He came up and said hello to us after the show!
John Martyn’s Solid Air is about Nick Drake who took his life at a young age.
King Creosote (Kenny Anderson) is from one of the fishing villages of Fife where my father came from. Hard to listen to sometimes now that he has passed. This is the first/intro track which segues with the second. Listen to both in that order.
King Creosote (Kenny Anderson) is from one of the fishing villages of Fife where my father came from. Hard to listen to now that he has passed. This is the second track which follows the intro. Listen to both in that order
The man from Fife! - managing to mix bagpipes, electronics and poignant lyrics into a beautiful mix.
I have loved this Aria since seeing in the film Diva. Sung by Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez
My son Adam doing a great classical collaboration for Bastille day at the French Institute in London
An amazing return to form of Nile Rodgers. We saw him give a talk at the Edinburgh festival. Great guy. The song is also famous for an afternoon party we had in Vernon!
This band came out of Big Audio Dynamite. Well at least the drummer did. They brought the samples with them too. Somehow I completely missed them even though John Peel was a huge fan.
Still fresh today. Love it and still makes my party playlists
My kilt wearing phase (Arielle’s wedding and my retirement party) was inspired by Axl Rose in this performance
Maybe not many people have seen this. From the Lulu show on the BBC! - selected this over the more iconic Woodstock clips
Saw Robin Trower at Newcastle City hall in the 70s. Was hoping to see him again in Yorkshire in 2021/22 but covid got in the way.
The wonderful R.L Burnside, although this is a hell of a story
Chris Farlowe, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Dave Greenslade blasting out early British blues/jazz. One of my all time faves. And what a voice !
![Jimmy Page & Robert Plant - Kashmir [HD] with Egyptian Orchestra](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bzEYNsFC2gE/hqdefault.jpg)
Let’s call this my Led Zep selection! - often played loud in our Hackney household and other special occasions, like before leaving for the airport to travel to India!
![Robert Plant - '29 Palms' - Official Video [HD REMASTERED]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wD5qPWHIDPo/hqdefault.jpg)
Saw them at a rather infamous Hackney Empire gig - wonderful roots reggae
This up there with Gimme Shelter and Sympathy for the Devil
Probably cried once or twice in the crowd listening to this
Oh Man - we all need to sing this one time in our lives!
![[HQ] MACY GRAY || LUCY [2016 ADULT JAZZ] #Stripped](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8ucGbREFrA4/hqdefault.jpg)
Love her stripped down production on this jazz effort. Great live too
A short lived but well deserved spot of fame as he came to the end of his career. Showman of the old school
Saw him at the roman amphitheater in Lyon with Pam (gift from Alexa) - Amazing. Britain’s got talent :)
A little leftfield for some people but a mercury prize winner. Lived and busked on the streets in Paris before he gained attention and recognition.
Memories of trips to New York and Greece still strong with this track
His one album Grace (before his tragic drowning) that will never be forgotten. A worthy equal of the original Leonard Cohen song (also somewhere in my list).
Such a poignant rendition, somewhat foretelling the beginning of the end, as he drank himself to the grave.
Including this odd video of the Big Man playing on Hastings beach. I rough sort of a place but he is clearly up for it, even if knocking back a large Rhum & Coke in the process. Put’s his best Scottish accent on too.
Canvey Island lads who had a blues, R&B and punk following in the mid-late 70’s. Went onto see Wilko loads of times on the London pub circuit and with Ian Dury’s Blockheads in the 80s.
Had quite a Smiths phase when at university in the early 80s. Chose this because of Johnny Marr’s excellent guitar work more than anything else!
The jazz version. Seen at the San Sebastian Jazz festival along with Gregory Porter. They were crazy loud.
A saw Peter Hammill several times in London while I lived there, so was thrilled to see him in Paris recently
From seeing them as student in 1982 in London, to being reconnected in present day Paris - All the way from Cleveland Ohio. Amazing and out there!
Was wowed by this band at the Olso festival “by:Larm” that Adam was also performing at
What a crazy band and song. He died too early. I used to chase the kids around the house playing this at high volume :)
They made quite a splash with this performance
David Bowie’s last two albums just blew me away but Blackstar is the most amazing final album ever.
Once of the most inspirational Bowie songs. “We can be heroes, just for one day” And isn’t Gail Ann Dorsey fantastic on bass
What a great setting for this classic U-Roy song. Saw him at the 1976 Reading festival!
Introduced by Judge Dread. Playing in Edinburgh in the early 70’s
![Hollie Cook - Looking For Real Love [Official Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ne__QGYYwEo/hqdefault.jpg)
A stirring protest song. Saw them at the venue I held my retirement party at. In fact, the reason I chose the venue for my retirement party!
Local Edinburgh band making waves. Flying to Washington DC to see them in April 2024. I can do that in The Next Stage :)
Powerful stuff with the gorgeous Naomi Campbell. This was written about the drones being used in Afghanistan but its as relevant as ever, given the use of drones in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere.
This Swedish based band with an American singer have a great mix of humour and a punk esthetic . The videos are pretty fucking great too!
He was Belgian but loved by the French. His accordionist played with Tetes Raides at the Giverny festival one year
Saw them a few times at the Giverny festival and this is always the highlight for me in their setlist. Christian Olivier is something of an anarchist poet too
One of a kind shouter from Manchester. Might have lost most of his teeth to alcoholism by this point!
What a voice, what a talent. Pam and I and I saw her at the Newport Jazz festival too
I was lucky enough to see the great Rachid Taha at the Giverny festival (in the small barn) before he died. It was quite a night and I got into trouble with my exuberant reaction and flaying arms to this song!!
I went to see Henry Rollins do his spoken word show in London many years ago. Didn’t do this one but its very funny.
Several interpretations on this poem. I believe it was written about his dying father but I take it as a call to fight against getting old and to stay young at heart!